The Return of Nate
by Bea Ryan
Summary: Alcohol and music turn whiny, dead eyed Jason into Nate, a man Charlie wants to get to know intimately.


Summary: Alcohol and music turn whiny, dead eyed Jason into Nate, a man Charlie wants to get to know intimately.

Charlie watched the crowd surge and retreat and wondered how they all knew the same song.

The rebels had all adjourned to this rather large bar in an old school cafeteria following a thorough routing of the local militia unit. Someone had begun playing the piano and was soon joined by a guitar and a singer. It was all fairly mellow, the drinks flowing freely as tales of the day were told and retold, until the second guitar and and several drum buckets joined in. The singer had been given a bull horn and it had gotten loud and wild. Even the normally grumpy Miles was pulsing along with the crowd, throwing his hands up on the word "Shout."

From her perch on the side of the stage, she sought out the people she knew. Nora wasn't too far from Miles, nothing exciting there. It might get good later, if that new captain had a few more drinks and made a serious move on her Miles might just admit that she was attractive, but for now they were both just enjoying the music.

A girl from his unit was hitting on Jason, leaning over to give him a view of her cleavage as she moved lower and lower in time to the music. Jason seemed relaxed for once, as if he was truly enjoying the show. Charlie hoped the girl could keep his attention. Jason was a nice guy, heck he had saved her life on more than one occasion, but she wasn't attracted to him. He seemed to swing between two moods, wooden soldier and needy desperation, and neither made her heart flutter. She wondered where his Nate Walker persona had gone. Nate seemed like an entirely different person from Jason. He was sexy and confident with an easy smile. She knew now that he'd been spying on her but that didn't change how hot he'd made her before she discovered his real identity. She remembered the jokes he'd told on the long walk from Wisconsin to Chicago. One in particular had been a little dirty and she hadn't understood the punchline. He'd leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry about it. We can act it out later and it will all make sense." His breath on her skin had been more sensual than any caress.

And now all she had was dead eyed Jason.

The song changes to something slower and most of the people leave the dance floor. The girl, Charlie thinks her name is Kate, wraps her arms around Jason's neck and presses into him to dance a slow sway. He puts his arms around her but simultaneously Charlie sees him bring down the walls and step into his military bearing. She assumes he thinks of it as military but she considers it slightly brain dead. Hey, maybe Kate likes her men with all the personality of a sock. There's no accounting for taste.

The dance ends and Kate wanders off. Jason makes beeline for Charlie, earnestness and adoration shifting in suddenly to replace his blank mask. "So much for getting someone else to entertain the puppy," she thinks. She tosses back her drink, not caring about the burn so much as it's dulling effect. She smirks to herself, wondering if anything is duller than Jason.

"Your glass is empty," he says. "Can I get you another one?"

"Yes, please. Anything. Surprise me."

He makes his way to the bar and returns entirely too soon with two large plastic cups. There's just enough juice to make the cheaply made but highly potent alcohol bearable.

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" she asks.

"I'm trying to get us both drunk," he says.

"Any particular reason?"

"I want you to remember how much you liked me on the road, and if that doesn't work then I want to get drunk enough that I don't care."

"You were different on the road."

"I was Nate. Nate can't be trusted. You don't want anything to do with him."

"You already know I wanted to do a lot with Nate."

He considers this quietly for a moment. There's a slight change to his posture and a smile takes over his face. Nate's smile, warm, welcoming, and seductive. She smiles at the new man before her, the bond they'd built springing back from wherever it had been hiding. He steps closer, pulling her to the edge of the stage and pushing his body between her thighs. He makes her lean down to hear him speak, his breath hot on her skin, his voice pitched slightly lower. "Do you know why I never tried to seduce you?"

Charlie can barely answer. He's really Nate again. Sexy and bold and willing to talk to her like an adult instead of a stupid, delicate child. "Tell me."

"I knew once would never be enough."

Charlie may be naïve but the line is obvious enough for even her to catch it and parry. "Aren't you good enough that I'd give you a second chance?"

He smiles wickedly, his eyes telling her that she'd give him as many chances as he'd take. She believes him. This man makes her breathless.

"Dance with me," he commands, pulling her forward off the stage. She wraps her legs around him and slides toward the ground. He wraps his hands around her behind, slowing her descent briefly just below his waistband. She knows she should put her legs down and catch herself but instead she wraps them more tightly around him, using them and her arms around his neck to hold herself in place.

He grinds into her against the stage, one hand supporting her behind, the other tangled in her hair. She moans as his hips, mouth and hands press into her, stoking her need. She whimpers as he pulls away. "We need to dance," he whispers in her ear. Her skin burns wherever his breath touches her.

"Why?" she pouts.

"I want to see you move."

Suddenly she's afraid. She forgets to put on her brave face and instead looks like a scared little girl. Jason comes running back, abandoning his Nate persona for his true babysitter identity. "What's wrong?" he coos.

Charlie curses to herself. She doesn't want the delicate nursemaid in a god's body. She wants Nate, the seducer,. She chooses her words carefully. "We didn't have much music in my village. I don't have much experience. Will you show me how to move?" She rolls her hips into him as she says it, hammering him in the groin with her double meaning.

"Hell yeah, I will."

He pulls her to the dance floor and they quickly find the beat, their bodies pulsing to the rhythm of the drums. They're both soon sweat slick and panting, grinding into each other on the floor, barely even pretending to dance. Nate dances behind her, grinding his excitement into her hips, but Charlie's need burns. She turns to face him, hoping for some kind of direct caress and fearing she'll shatter when she receives it, but the only thing she can think of is to hump his leg like a dog and she has just enough dignity left for now to avoid that.

Nate recognizes her desire and distress, and he smiles. His hand slides around from her back and down her side, caressing the edge of her breast before trailing over her stomach, and reaching the top of her pants. He slides one finger along the inside of her waistband, his hand rough against her tender skin, before asking, "Ready?"

She pants, open mouthed, settling for an affirmative nod instead of words, and he leaves his finger in her waistband, dragging her forward by it before shoving open the first door they find. They move several doors down the hallway before entering an old classroom, the children's and teacher's desks just where they'd been left 15 years ago on the day of the blackout. They move quickly to the back of the room, away from the door and into a pool of moonlight.


End file.
